I think the omission of Aperture is a big shame and renders the test only partially interesting.

Apple's entry is the missing member here. It's absence DOES make a difference.

Apple has a massive user base and Aperture is their proprietary offering. It is not the same as the other offerings also missed from the test.

I agree completely that including Aperture would have made this a far more valuable article. I know many people who wonder how Aperture compares to LR specifically, as well as to the other programs. To my way of thinking specifying "cross platform" crippled the utility of this otherwise very good article.

Joshlovesphotos: The cornflower shot looks very unrealistic in the sense that the dof to distance is not accurate on the flowers, since both flowers should not appear with the same focus plane, the stem on the taller flower has no graduated dof moving vertically, meaning that it is not leaving forward into the front flowers focal plane, I guess that is the idea, to make the impossible, possible.

I'd rather exaggerate already existing dof, not make the impossible, possible. I'm not into abstract or impressionistic art, I'm into realism with a bit of lucid dream mixed in, hence why I bought a camera, to reproduce a scene, not to make up a scene.

Just to clarify, the depth of field on those two flowers is entirely natural and done in camera. The PS blur was only applied to the background to blur it slightly more than what was possible with that particular lens. Often it's difficult to blur the background as much as one might like with most wide angle lenses.

Alexander Belokurov: Could somebody help me please: I am having trouble with inserted Stop command in batch processing. Is there a way to pause script execution, do some manual controls and then continue the batch processing? I use Photoshop CS2. Thanks.

If you create an action that includes running a script, you'll see a step marked "script." You can insert a stop and then when batch processing using that action, you'd manually run the script for each file in order to individualize some settings and then proceed as usual. As far as I know there's not a way to display the steps within the script and then insert a stop just at that point. What you can do instead is when recording the action, rather than use the script, record each step yourself in the action Then you can use stops wherever it would be helpful.

mikepop: Ive created an action to Resize,save and close in a web folder,how can I do this without re-writing over an exsiting (same) named file.Eg:File 1234.jpg will erase a an older file 1234.jpgI tried a droplet but that just renamed my Raw file.Thanks in advance.

Mikepop, in order not to rewrite over an existing file, you need to record a Save As step in the action, not a save step. : Photoshop gives you three destination options. Be aware that the second destination option, 'Save and Close', commands Photoshop to overwite the original file. Also the Override Action Save As Commands box is crucial to the success of your batch process. If you have a Save As command within the action, check this box if want your new files saved to the folder you specify in the Batch dialog rather than the one you used when you recorded the action.The screenshots showing this clearly are on page 4 of the article.

Please do not laugh; I seem to have a total mental block regarding LAYERS. Maybe someone can write a step-by-step Noddy language basic guideline not assuming any knowledge. Believe me I have read books, got it right some times but could not repeat my 'success'.... Any one out there hearing my cry for help. Yes, I am BC.

Peet, I'll try to give you a quick overview here. There are two type of layers - those with pixels (think of them as pictures) and those with instructions (adjustments - like make it lighter, darker, saturate the reds more, etc.) With the pixel layers, whatever layer is on top is what you see. You can cut a virtual hole in a layer so that you can see through it to a lower layer by using a layer mask. Adjustment layers apply instructions to alter the appearance of the pixels and can have layer masks as well. Those masks basically say "apply the effect here but not there." All of the above assumes the layers are using the "Normal" blending mode. It gets more complicated when you change the blending mode which is a way of changing how the layers combine with one another. I go into this more fully in my Photoshop book, but perhaps if there's sufficient interest the editors will let me do a more in depth article here as well.

Bob Meyer: I kind of feel photographs shouldn't try to look like something they're not (e.g.,paintings). Not really to my taste, but to each his own. I'm sure lot's of people don't like my taste in photos.

"Because you can get a photography of an event that never actually happened, except in your mind."Well that's a very good point that didn't cross my mind! I was so caught up in the realism that it never occurred to me that it could be a fantasy. Thanks for pointing that out.

PaulGrand2: Speaking as one half of the Flypaper Texture team, i'd like to thank Ellen for this enlightening feature!Btw, its a little known fact that the Victorians also used purchased glass plate textures in their darkrooms,this was forgotten about until only recently.JParker, thanks for the history, Steichen's photographic movement was called 'Pictorialist'.Our painterly textures concept is based upon the French Impressionists who in turn influenced the Pictorialist photographers we all admire.Rayven, the texture used on the first image is Luminescent from our Flypaper Tex Pack 2.:-)

Thanks Paul. Interesting about the Victorians use of glass plate textures - I didn't know that. And thanks for identifying the texture I used!

OneGuy: Well done Ellen. A local photoshop is offering a large format (4x4 feet) prints on a textured (3D) canvass. Bit pricey but that's another dimension. Does your method mask a low res or higher noise of the original? One person I know (yes, its a she) likes the purplish hue and other color artifacts an inexpensive camera makes in low light. Is there any way to work with that?Finally, I do not do (anything) Adobe. Are there any alternatives you know of?Cheers,

Check into onOne Software. Part of Perfect Suite 6 is a program called Perfect Layers 2 that I think can be used to combine images.

JudyH: Thanks for the excellent article and examples Ellen. I often use textures with my photography. A good source of free quality textures is Shadowhouse Creations.

The links partially work for me although the linked site appears as a tab that you need to click rather than the new page opening completely. Hopefully one of the DPReview staff can make the links automatically open when you click them. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Bob Meyer: I kind of feel photographs shouldn't try to look like something they're not (e.g.,paintings). Not really to my taste, but to each his own. I'm sure lot's of people don't like my taste in photos.

The ironic thing is that there is a trend among painters now to create photo-realistic paintings. Some of them look exactly like a photograph ... and I can't help but wonder why paint it then? But precisely as you said, "To each, his own."

Deutsch: Ellen, Thanks for the article. I can't paint, so your technique is especially nice and something I will try. I enjoy the diversity in photography and both the top and bottom photo definitely bring out yet another form of photographic art. Good job!

Definitely give it a try, but don't be frustrated if you don't like the results with the first image you try it with. It doesn't work with all images, but you'll soon get a sense for when it does work. Techniques like this increase the expressive opportunities for those of us (myself included) who are not fluent with painting.

Kerry Munroe: From the start, photography is about manipulating images. In the dark room adjusting the exposure, dodge and burn, chemical variations and cook books, different papers. What about cropping! To leave it in, to leave it out? The digital era is no different, only much more powerful and dynamic.

Feel free to like or dislike this person's images, but this well written article may enlighten a few of us to another photographic tool. It did for me.

For me photography is an art and techniques such as this blur the boundaries between what is a traditional photograph and what is a painting. (But note that these techniques have been used for a long time including in the days of film.) These images began with a photograph and then I worked with them to become more reflective of my vision. To me that's an artistic process - perhaps in a realm we could call Photo Art or Photo Painting or some thing.

But does it really matter if it's "still photography????"

Obviously it would matter if someone presented a forensic image or photojournalism this way, but these techniques are not intended to produce documentary images used for field guides. Photography is an art and art implies it's an expression of the creator's vision.

OneGuy: Well done Ellen. A local photoshop is offering a large format (4x4 feet) prints on a textured (3D) canvass. Bit pricey but that's another dimension. Does your method mask a low res or higher noise of the original? One person I know (yes, its a she) likes the purplish hue and other color artifacts an inexpensive camera makes in low light. Is there any way to work with that?Finally, I do not do (anything) Adobe. Are there any alternatives you know of?Cheers,

It's tempting to think that adding a texture hides that the image is lower res or has noise. To a small extent that may be true. However, as I say in the article, for best results, you want to begin with a strong image. A low res file that's enlarged to 4 feet x 4 feet is not likely to have strong detail and may be pixelated. The catch is that the farther you are from the image, the better it will look. Chances are that with an image that large, you'll be fairly far away. Bottom line is that if you are going to enlarge a low res file that much, adding a texture may help the final appearance as long as it's viewed from a distance.

As for the purplish hue and such of your friend's camera, I would use standard PS editing techniques to remove them if she sees them as undesirable. I don't have space here to go into details, but you could check out my PS book for that.

I'm not sure of another program that lets you combine pixel layers, but if something comes to mind I'll let you know.

Sometimes I do too - and in that case, don't apply a texture. It's just an option to create a look that some people like, and as with all artistic options, that some people don't. If there weren't differences in taste, everything would look pretty much the same and that would be boring. Thanks for taking the time to read the article and comment.